03/20/2026
Benefits of Local / Regional Anesthesia and Sedation during Surgery
One key benefit is faster recovery time compared with general anesthesia; there’s no lingering grogginess post-procedure because it doesn’t affect consciousness.
Also, risks associated are lower since breathing remains unimpeded unlike under general anesthesia, which may require assistance using machines sometimes.
Types of Anesthesia
Local anesthesia: This numbs a small section of your body. Providers commonly use local anesthesia for minimally invasive procedures. You’re awake during the procedure.
Sedation: Also called “twilight sleep,” sedation relaxes you to the point where you’ll nap but can wake up if needed to communicate. Although you won’t be completely unconscious, you’re not as likely to remember the procedure.
Regional anesthesia: Regional anesthesia blocks pain in a larger part of your body, like a limb or everything below your chest.
General anesthesia: (GA) This treatment makes you unconscious and insensitive to pain or other stimuli.
Other considerations
Some older people undergoing general anesthesia have shown memory and thinking problems afterwards. This is known as post-operative cognitive dysfunction and patients usually recover quickly.
In rare cases, these problems sometimes persist – and may even lead to a diagnosis of dementia. This can happen when someone has underlying or undiagnosed memory and thinking problems.
Statistically significant higher rate of failed same day discharge under general anesthesia
